The aroma from the loose leaf tea was overwhelmingly grassy, which surprised me a bit as I usually associate grassiness with green tea. There’s also a bit of earthiness to the aroma of the tea as well, but it is very subtle.

After brewing for 3 minutes, I took a look at the tea and it looked lighter than I usually like my Darjeeling, so I brewed for an additional 2 minutes (to the suggested upper limit of 5 minutes). Once steeped, the tea took on a lovely amber quality, while the aroma was still slightly grassy, but had taken on a soft floral nose as well.

Upon tasting the grassiness was definitely much more muted than I expected it to be based on the aroma and there was also a slight earthiness, along with mellow floral notes. There is a slightly astringent finish to the tea, but I feel that only adds to the tea. Overall, I feel that this would be a great introductory Darjeeling because it’s quite a mellow, drinkable tea – no overwhelming florals here. I’ll definitely finish off this tin, but I’m not sure if I’ll purchase again because it’s not really the profile that I look for in a Darjeeling – I like them a tad more floral and earthy, with a touch less grassiness.

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I’m Meg, I’ve been a tea drinker most of my life, but for the last 5 years it’s become a hobby and bit of an obsession. I’m a stay-at-home mom with a degree in Anthropological Archaeology and love to cook, bake, read and watch classic movies. I have converted my husband from coffee to tea, though we do have very different tastes.

My tastes in tea tend to be similar to my tastes in books and music – all over the place. I love the classics, like a beautiful darjeeling, but I also love playful, more flavourful teas as well. I drink pretty much anything black, green, rooibos, herbal, plain, flavoured, loose leaf, bagged tea, iced or hot. I’m a new mom, so my ratings tend to be whenever I can get the time to post.

0-25: Horrible. Won’t be drinking this again – ever. Dumped out the rest of the cup/pot.

26-50: Definitely not something I’d buy again, but I might finish the stash (unless it’s a large amount or particularly bad). A one or couple of redeeming factors, but overall not a great tea.

51-75: A drinkable tea, but unfortunately has one (or more) large flaws that will keep it from being a tea that stays in my cupboard. May need doctoring with (gasp) sugar, lemon or cream. I will finish the amount I have, but not purchase again.

76-85: A great everyday tea and will probably stock it in my cupboard for daily drinking if it’s not too expensive.

86-90: Teas that I really enjoy, stock in my cupboard and drink often.

91-100: These are the ones that remind me why I love tea and am proud to be a tea drinker. Reserved for my favourite teas that I always keep stocked and/or teas that I save for special occasions.